Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1887-10-28
TAsTEFuLLY ARRANGED OFFICES.
How Art and Business Are Combined
with Advantage to Both

How Art and Business Are Combined
with Advantage to Both.
An artistic coal office is in Northamp-
ton, Mass, where a young lady is the
proprietor and manager. The office is a
picturesque little sitting room and the odd
moments OF time are devoted to drawing
and designing, for the coal dealer is an
artist and carries forward the business
left by her father. The articles which are
needed for handling coal are, thanks to
enterprising manufacturers, made in an
an artistic and practical manner. Wood
boxes of antique oak are bound with
handsome bands of hand wrought iron or
polished brass, which prove very effective
when developed in proper form. All these
graceful and practical articles are found
in the model coal office.
The business office of The Decorator and
Furnisher in New York is extremely pic
turesque, practical and suggestive, to
those who love beauty of form and color,
novel design and exquisite workmanship.
The office is one large room, with broad
windows which admit a flood of sunshine
aud plenty of fresh air. Entering from
the hall, you see group of light effect,
and soft, rich color, which fairly pervades
the atmosphere. The room is divided
into several hooks, called private offices,
the partitions being made of fancy Japan
csc lattice work set in frames of bamboo;
the open lattice, made in squares, shows
a variety of design and the tiny bits of
wood most of which are less than an inch
in length are put together with wonder
full exactness; the delicacy of the struc-
ture strikes one as not exactly suited to
every day use, but strength is secured by
perfect construction, and the delicate out
lines gain added beauty from the back
ground of color secured by the addition
of soft, bright silken draperies put up
very simply on tiny rods. These cozy
offices are filled with soft, bright rugs, :
easy chairs, couches and artistic trifes,
which add to the cozy effect and serve
many times for practical business pur-
poses.
MI Low, the man of tiles, has pic
turesque office in Chelsea. The exterior
is made of brick, not polished red brick or
painted brick but refuse brick, odds and
ends thrown out from the kiln as useless
for building purposes. The bricks with
their irregular shapes, dashes of black,
brown, yellow and red, have been builded
into one of the most picturesque of Eng
lish cottages, beneath whose portal the
visitor enters into breezy atmosphere,
where desks of rich dark wood hold any
amount of work; the quiet, artistic sur
roundings do not disturb any one, for it
is place to rest in. The fittings are of
dark wood, the ratings are of deep, rich
tone, twisted in long, graceful coils,
clasped at intervals by bands of polished
brass; chairs, tables, book racks, tile
holders, all have frames or supports of
this twisted wood, which is highly pol
ished and reflects light and shade in a
very charming fashion. A deep English
window with diamond panes opens toward
the street, and from the roof deep
shadow is cast along the outer wall from
projecting caves, while the corners of the
building are strongly defined by clustered
bricks which have been very hot in the
kiln and in cooling run out of shape, pre-
senting irregular, elongated forms, which
are quaint and attractive when defined
against a brilliant sky.-Boston Art
MAGAZINE